A highly effective, solid waste grinder has been developed in recent years for shredding, crushing and grinding solid waste material carried by a liquid influent stream in which two interacting stacks of shredding members are mounted on substantially parallel vertical shafts, positioned in transverse arrangement relative to the direction of waste material introduction into a grinder or comminutor apparatus. The shredding members of one stack interact with the shredding members of the other stack, with the rotating shredding members of respective stacks being separated by spacers, wherein the distances between the teeth of a cutting element with an opposing spacer differing as between different ones of pairs of interacting shredding members and wherein teeth provided on at least one member of each pair of shredding members for cutting in both directions of stack rotation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,324, assigned to the common corporate assignee, is exemplary of such solid waste shredding crushing and grinding apparatus.
While such shredding, crushing and grinding apparatus works very effectively and permits the fine solids ground during flow passage of the influent stream through the apparatus to be retained within the liquid, where large flows are required, there is a necessity to stack a relatively large number of such apparatuses side by side, so that the influent flow rate is not severely diminished by the presence of the solid waste grinding apparatus. Additionally, since the grinding apparatus is required to see only the major portion of the solid waste carried by the influent, there is a need in the industry to effectively concentrate within the portion of the liquid influent passing through the grinding apparatus, the solid waste carried by the influent.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved waste handling system using one or more solid waste grinder units positioned in the path of an influent stream carrying the solid waste, in which the solid waste is effectively concentrated and moves with minimum effort into the inlet of the grinding apparatus, wherein the grinder units involve stacked interacting shredding members, wherein a solid waste diversion mechanism is employed, which is of simplified construction, which is readily adjustable to match varying width influent streams and wherein, the solids diversion mechanism is of a type which concentrates the solids and diverts the influent upstream of a grinder unit or units and which facilitates the introduction of the concentrated solids into the inlet of such grinder unit.